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| STARRING ALAN ARKIN, JAMES CAAN, LINDA LAVIN, EDMUND O’BRIEN, STEVE COCHRAN, TOM KEENE, AND CELIA WESTON |
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| Director Richard Rush’s seminal cynical cop comedy mixes politically incorrect insouciance with slam bang action and hard won affection for a heady brew that still delivers a buzz four decades after its release. Alan Arkin is the insensitively nicknamed The Bean and James Caan is the aptly nicknamed Freebie (thanks to his penchant for minor graft) in this police drama that starts in the garbage and just goes lower. Freebie and the Bean are at the tail end of a many months investigation into the criminal operations of one Red Meyers (Jack Kruschen) when they get wind of a plot to assassinate Red. A series of slam-bang sequences punctuated with moments of pure male meanderings follow in a film that helped create frenemy buddy cop template that blossomed for years to come. Leslie Kovacs’ distinctive photography and Rush’s amazing automobile actions sequences have never looked cooler or grittier than in this easy-on-the-eyes new master for Blu-ray, and co-stars Loretta Swit and Valerie Harper who look pretty swell, too. 16×9 Letterbox |
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| Mel’s Diner continues to function as a welcome way station in the pursuit of dreams in Alice ‘s fifth hit season. Ex-Mel gal Belle (Diane Ladd) continues to keep the service staff up to snuff in style and sass while Alice continues to raise Tommy and chase her singing career while Vera keeps on being… well, Vera. The baton gets passed mid-season, as Alice helps lady truck driver Jolene (Celia Weston) escape a bad business partner just in time for Jolene to replace Belle, who hits the road with her brother’s band. Among the celebrity diners visiting Mel’s this season are Robert Goulet (as himself), Mildred Natwick, Martha Raye, Ruth Buzzi, and a returning Jerry Reed (as himself). This 3-Disc, 23 Episode Collection contains the entire fifth season as originally produced, including episodes Mel’s Cousin, Wendell and Vera And The Bouncing Check which both originally aired during the series’ sixth season. |
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| COWBOYS #3 – HOME ENTERTAINMENT DEBUTS |
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| COW COUNTRY (1953) New to DVD |
| Edmund O’Brien makes a rare wild west appearance as Ben Anthony, an independent teamster caught in the middle of a Texas range war. The straight-shooting Anthony runs a freight business in a hard hit community of cattlemen. As the local ranchers face off against the ruthless banker and opportunists that want to drive them off their land, Anthony finds he has close ties to both sides of the struggle – childhood friend (and secret cad) Harry (Robert Lowry) and Harry’s fiancee (and Ben’s secret love) Linda (Helen Westcott). Peggie Castle adds some extra spice as the whip-cracking cowgirl Melba Sykes, full of scorned fury. |
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| THE LION AND THE HORSE (1952) New to DVD |
| Steve Cochran takes a break from being the antagonist in serious dramas to hit the saddle in this warm-hearted Western romp about the special bond between cowboy and horse. This contemporary sage brush saga sees Cochran playing wild-horse wrangler Ben Kirby who loses his heart to Wildfire, the stalwart and free-spirited stallion he captures. Cash-strapped Ben’s dreams of training the horse are dashed when Wildfire is sold out from under him to Dave Tracy (the reliably hissable Ray Teal), a circus owner prone to mistreatment of his animal charges. When Tracy refuses to sell, Kirby liberates Wildfire and the two go on the run. Eventually finding sanctuary at a ranch run by Cas Bagley (Harry Antrim) and Cas’ animal loving niece Jenny (Sherry Jackson), Kirby dream of training Wildfire comes true. But an escaped lion and a vengeful Dave Tracy are coming… and they bring death in their wake. Also stars Bob Steele, Tom Tyler and George O’Hanlon. |
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| CROSS FIRE (1933) New to DVD |
| “Western King” Tom Keene stars in this contemporary crime pre-Code Western that pits old West grit against the modern machinery of war. Tom Allan (Keene) is the foreman of the Sierra Mining Company, working under its board of five kindly coots, blacksmith Mayor Charlie Rudorph (Thomas Brower), Judge Whitney Wilson (Jules Cowles), Dr. Miles Styles (Nick Cogley), banker Jonathan Wheeler (Charles K. French) and rancher Daniel Plummer (Lafe McKee). When Tom heads off to serve in World War One, Bert King (Edward Phillips) is appointed to run the ranch, but Bert is not who he appears. Framed for murder, the surviving members of the board head for hills, hiding from Bert and his crony, Krueger (Stanley Blystone). When Tom returns with pal Ed Wimpy (Edgar Kennedy) along for the ride, Sheriff Wells (Murdock MacQuarrie) persuades Tom to become a deputy in order to undue the injustice. But Bert has acquired an army surplus machine gun… |
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| LOY AND POWELL BACK IN PRINT |
| MANHATTAN MELODRAMA (1934) Back on DVD |
| Clark Gable and William Powell play a pair of orphan pals who grow up on opposite sides of the law and learn to love the same lady (Myrna Loy). |
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| I LOVE YOU AGAIN (1940) Back on DVD |
| William Powell plays an uptight and upright pillar of the community who, when accidentally hit in the head, discovers he’s actually a rogue and a con man, much to the delight of his bored wife (Myrna Loy). |
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| LOVE CRAZY (1941) Back on DVD |
| After his wife (Myrna Loy) decides to divorce him, a husband (William Powell) hatches a series of hare-brained schemes to win her back. |
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| BONNIE AND CLYDE 50TH ANNIVERSARY SCREENINGS NATIONWIDE! |
| They’re young, they’re in love and they rob banks. Fathom Events, TCM Big Screen Classics and Warner Bros Entertainment are bringing Bonnie and Clyde (1967) to select cinemas nationwide for a special two-day event on August 13 and 16 only. The event includes exclusive commentary by TCM host Ben Mankiewicz. |
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